Flexible printing plate locking device for rotary printing press

ABSTRACT

A plate lock-up mechanism including first and second jaw members in the form of a sleeve and shaft telescoped together, each having longitudinally and radially extending jaws and with the sleeve being provided with a longitudinal clearance slot. A clamping screw is provided at the end of the sleeve for imparting relative rocking motion to the shaft so as to grip the end of a plate inserted between the jaws. The sleeve, moreover, has a jack screw at its end for rocking the entire jaw assembly for tensioning and peripherally positioning the plate. In the preferred embodiment the sleeve has an extension in the form of a collar for mounting the clamping screw and jack screw. To adjust the axial position of the jaws and plate, the sleeve and collar are mounted for axial sliding movement in the cylinder, and an axially oriented adjusting screw is interposed between the collar and the cylinder for endwise crowding of the collar in one direction or the other. To establish a nominal position of peripheral register, the collar is provided with an eccentrically located stop screw and the cylinder is provided with a stop member in the path of rocking movement of the stop screw. The stop member is rotatable and has stop surfaces in the form of facets of different radial dimension which are selectively interposeable. Auxiliary jaw members are mounted coaxially with respect to the main jaw members and have respective axially facing keyed connections therewith which may be engaged to extend the effective width of the jaw thereby to accommodate plates of different width.

United States Patent 91 Langer [I11 3,824,928 [451 July 23,1974

FLEXIBLE PRINTING PLATE LOCKING DEVICE FOR ROTARY PRINTING PRESS [75] Inventor: Karl Langer, I-Ieusenstamrn,

Germany [73] Assignee: Roland Offsetmaschinenfabrik Faber & Schleicher AG, Offenbach/Main, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 354,960

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data April 27, 1972 Germany ..2220652 [52] US. Cl. 101/415.1 [51] Int. Cl B4lt 27/12 [58] Field of Search 10l/415.1, 378, 408, 409, 101/410, 411, 412

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 629,932 8/1899 Spalckhauer 101/4151 1,957,880 5/1934 Fankboner 101/409 2,851,841 10/1958 Worthington et al.... 101/378 3,335,663 8/1967 Harenza 101/4151 3,605,621 Woessner et al. 101/415.1

Primary Examiner-J. Reed Fisher Assistant Examiner-Paul J. Hirsch Attorney, Agent, or FirmWolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann, Ltd.

ally extending jaws and with the sleeve being provided with a longitudinal clearance slot. A clamping screw is provided at the end of the sleeve for imparting relative rocking motion to the shaft so as to grip the end of a plate inserted between the jaws. The sleeve, moreover, has a ack screw at its end for rocking the entire jaw assembly for tensioning and peripherally positioning the plate. In the preferred embodiment the sleeve has an extension in the form of a collar for mounting the clamping screw and jack screw. To adjust the axial position of the jaws and plate, the sleeve and collar are mounted for axial sliding movement in the cylinder, and an axially oriented adjusting screw is interposed between the collar and the cylinder for endwise crowding of the collar in one direction or the other. To establish a nominal position of peripheral register, the collar is provided with an eccentrically located stop screw and the cylinder, is provided with a stop member in the path of rocking movement of the stop screw. The stop member is rotatable and has stop surfaces in the form of facets of different radial dimension which are selectively interposeable. Auxiliary jaw members are mounted coaxially with respect to the main jaw members and have respective axially facing keyed connections therewith which may be engaged to extend the effective width of the jaw thereby to accommodate plates of different width.

14 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJuL231914 SHEU 1 [IF 5 FLEXIBLE PRINTING PLATE LOCKING DEVICE FOR ROTARY PRINTING PRESS It is an object of the present invention to provide a lock-up mechanism for flexible printing plates which is simple, durable, economical to manufacture and easy to operate and maintain. It is more specifically an object of the present invention to provide a pair of telescoped jaw members having a clamping screw for clamping a plate positioned between them and having a jack screw which engages the cylinder for rocking the assembly bodily in the cylinder for tensioning and peripherally positioning the plate. Thus the operations of clamping and tensioning the plate at each of its ends is simply a matter of turning the screws in succession. The sleeve telescopes into an undercut cylindrical recess which not only permits rocking movement of the sleeve but which enables convenient endwise adjustment as may be necessary to achieve precise axial register. It is, accordingly, an object to provide a lock-up mechanism which may be easily operated and in which the turning of three easily accessible screws accomplishes the functions of clamping, axial register, and peripheral register and tensioning.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel stop construction which is mounted on the end of the cylinder and which is capable of presenting a plurality of stop surfaces to the sleeve in its path of rocking movement to establish a reference condition and which permits subsequent adjustment of register from the reference condition.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lock-up mechanism having a pair of main clamping and tensioning jaws and a pair of auxiliary clamping and tensioning jaws, with the auxiliary jaws being concentric with the main jaws and having respective axial keyed connections therewith to permitthe auxiliary jaws to form rigid extensions of the main jaws thereby to accommodate plates of different axial width.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a symmetrical lock-up mechanism which is recessed within the surface of a reversible printing cylinder but which is highly compact and which requires a minimum of channeling out of the plate cylinder so as to preserve its structural integrity. It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a plate lock-up mechanism which results in a printing cylinder assembly which is highly durable and rigid, which can withstand high impression pressures, and which may be safely operated at the highest achieveable press speeds.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the attached detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in FIG. 5a is a longitudinal section looking along the line 5a5a in FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary end view looking along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5a.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section looking along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a first jaw member forming part of the assembly.

FIG. 9 shows a second jaw member which is telescoped into the member shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a typical printing plate.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred emboiment, it will be understood that I do not intend to be limited to the particular embodiment shown but intend, on the contrary, to cover the various alternative and equivalent constructions which may be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings there is disclosed a typical plate cylinder 10 having plates mounted thereon two-around and four-acoss making a total of eight plates which have been correspondingly numbered. A typical plate indicated at 1 in, FIG. 10 has bent-over end portions 9 formed with respective registering notches 9a to which reference will subsequently be made. As to the construction of the cyliner 10 it will be seen that it is of composite construction having a cylindrical body 11 (FIG. 2) and end members 12 (FIG. 5) with journals 13 extending outwardly in opposite directions. The cylindrical body has undercut machined recesses 15 at the left-hand end for accommodating the lock-up mechanism associated with the plates 1-4 and similar recesses 16 at the right-hand end for accommodating the lock-up mechanism associated with plates 5-8. The jaw assembly for engaging one end of one of the plates is substantially duplicated for each of the ends of all of the other plates, so that one of the mechanisms will be taken as typical and identical numerals will be employed to identify corresponding elements in the other assemblies. Thus it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that assemblies of substantially the same design are arranged end to end to service plates lying side by side and, in the same recess, to service adjacent ends of two different plates. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 there is shown, in transverse and axial section, a jaw assembly 20 formed of a tensioning jaw member 21 and a clamping jaw member 22. Such members, illustrated at FIGS. 8 and 9 respectively, occupy normally telescoped positions but have been shown separated in these figures in order that the details of each might be understood. Thus referring to the tensioning jaw member 21, it is made up of a hollow cylindrical sleeve 23 having a radially projecting jaw 24 extending along its length and projecting in a generally radial direction. The jaw 24 is of tapered spade-like shape having a flat clamping face 25, the jaw preferably being machined integrally with the sleeve 23. Extending longitudinally of the sleeve and adjacent the jaw is a clearance slot 26. At the lefthand end of the member shown in FIG. 8 are key pro jections, or claws, 27 for the purpose of transmitting operating torque to the sleeve and jaw, as will appear.

Turning next to the clamping jaw member shown in FIG. 9, it consists of a shaft 33 having a jaw 34 which extends generally radially of the shaft and which has a flat face 35. At the left-hand end of the shaft 33 is a set 3 of key projections 37 for torque transmitting purposes, as will appear.

When the two members are telescoped together the jaw 34 extends'through the clearance slot 26 as illustrated in FIG. 4, the slot being of sufficient peripheral extent so that the jaw 34 may be rocked relatively back and forth as required for clamping the end of a printing plate. When the parts are assembled together, the opposed surfaces 25, 35 are substantially parallel to one another, with the two surfaces being constantly urged apart .by means of one or more recessed separator springs 38. For the purpose of registering the jaw 24 with respect to the plate, the jaw is fitted with a registration pin 39 which mates with one of the notches 9a in the end portion of the printing plate (FIG. 10). A registering clearance opening 39a is formed in the opposite jaw to clear the pin.

In accordance with the present invention means are provided at the end of the cylinder for (a) applying torque to the clamping jaw member relative to the tensioning jaw member for clamping the plate and for (b) rocking the two jaw members together, relative to the cylinder, for the purpose of tensioning and positioning the plate. For convenience, an assemblymade up of the two jaw members may be referred to as a jaw assembly. For the purpose of extending the sleeve 23 and shaft 33 out to the end of the cylinder for ready access, a collar and shaft extension are provided, one telescoped inside the other. Thus, referring to FIG. 5, the sleeve 23 is keyed to a collar 4l'while the shaft 33 is keyed to a shaft extension 42. The keyed engagement between the sleeve and collar and between the shaft and its extension is diagrammatically indicated at 43,

44 respectively. For holding the assembly together an axial clamping bolt 45 is provided which extends through a central bore in the shaft extension 42 and which has a force transmitting shoulder 46 which presses axially inward upon the collar 41. It will be understood, however, that with the clamping bolt 45 in place the clearances are such as to permit the shaft extension to be freely rotatable within the collar. For the purpose of applying torque to the shaft extension for clamping up the plate, the collar 41 is provided with an integral bracket 50 into which is threaded a clamping screw 51 having a tip 52 which bears against an arm, or radially extending lug, 53 formed at'the end of the shaft extension. It will suffice to say that turning the clamping screw 51 in the tightening direction rocks the shaft 33 so as to clamp the jaw 34 tightly against the plate.

Means are further provided on the collar 41 for rotating the jaw assembly relative to the cylinder. This is accomplished by a jack screw 55 which is threaded into the same bracket 50 so that its tip 56 engages a land 57 on the cylinder. Thus turning the jack screw 55 in the tightening direction causes the screw to crowd against the surface 57 so that the entire jaw assembly is rocked in a direction to tension the plate.

In carrying out the invention, means are provided for establishing a reference position for the jaw assembly. Such reference position is a position in which the croresponding end of the plate is in nominal register thereby making it easy for the press operator to grossly register the jaw assembly during the registering procedure and so that only relatively small touch up adjustments in register will thereafter be required. For this purpose the collar 41 has a bracket or arm 60 which carries an eccentric stop 61, the stop being in the form of a set screw having a locking nut so that the tip of the screw, indicated at 62, bears a fixed reference position to the collar. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 a stop member 63 is provided having stop surfaces 64, 65 selectively interposeable in the path of movement of the screw. In between the stop surfaces is a relief 66. In the preferred emobdiment the stop member 63 is rotatable (see also FIG. 7) having a shank which is snugly received in a bore 71. Secured to the shank by means of screws 72 is a locking disc 73, the edge of which is held captive by a stop clamping screw 74 having a collar 75. Turning the screw 74 clamps the collar so that the appropriate one of the surfaces 64, 65 or the relief 66, is positioned in the path of movement of the screw. It is one of the features of the present invention that laterally adjacent jaw assemblies are made as mirror images of one another with a rotatable stop member 63 being located symmetrically in between, the stop member having a double set of symmetrically positioned stop surfaces for either separately or simultaneously performing a stop function for both of the jaw assemblies. The duality and symmetry will be clear from FIG. 6. Reference'to a typical adjustment procedure isdeferred until a later point in the discussion. The surfaces 64, 65 may be conveniently referred to as facets or faces which may be either flat or curved.

Means are provided for not only rocking the jaw assembly so as to provide peripheral register but also for moving the jaw assembly endwise within the cylinder to achieve accurate axial register. This is accomplished by making the collar, and the sleeve to which it is connected, freely slidable within the cylinder in the axial direction and by interposing between the collar and the cylinder an axially oriented adjusting screw. Thus, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 an adjusting screw is provided which is screwed into a tapped opening 81 in the cylinder and which has flanges 82 which straddle a lug 83 integrally formed on the collar. It will be apparent upon reference to FIGS that turning the screw 80 in one direction forces the associated jaw assembly inwardly while turning it in the opposite direction results in outward movement. In a practical case only a small amount of rotation of the axial adjusting screw 80 will suffice and the amount of adjustment may be gaged by a scale 84 adjacent the head of the screw and which cooperates with a stationary index 85.

It is one of the features of the present invention that the two jaw assemblies which lie laterally adjacent one another are not only of mirror image but share a common recess 15 which is of special shape. Specifically, the recess, indicated at 15, is of undercut, or triangular, shape which conforms to the tapering spade-like configuration of the jaws. The triangular undercut makes for a high degree of compactness with very little peripheral space lost between the two adjacent assemblies. For the purpose of telescoping reception of the sleeves 23 of adjacent assemblies, bores are provided in the body of the cylinder as indicated at 91, 92, the bores merging with, and forming a part of, the recess 15. It will be understood that the bores 91, 92 extend the entire axial distance through the cylinder so that the inner and outer" ones of the axially adjacent jaw assemblies may be clamped up and adjusted at opposite ends of the cylinder employing the same clamping and adjusting means as previously described. In

order to distinguish the outer jaw assembly, already described, from the inner jaw assembly which is adjacent to it, the numerals which are applied to the second assembly and its clamping and adjusting means will be the same with addition of subscript a. Thus the jaw assembly 20a operated by sleeve 23a and shaft 33a is extended, for access of the controls, to the opposite end of the cylinder by means of extension sleeve 100 and an extension shaft 101, the sleeves and shafts being ocupled together by interengaged keys indicated diagrammatically at 102, 103. The key surfaces are held in engagement by a dowel 104 which is secued to the connected members by means of cross pins 105, 106. By such connecting means is the control for the jaw assembly 20a brought out to the right-hand end of the cylinder where the sleeve 100 is connected to the sleeve 41a by means of keyed surfaces 43a and where the shaft 101 is connected to the shaft extension 42a by keyed surfaces 44a, the keyed surfaces being held to gether by the clamping screw 45a.

In accordance with one of the aspects of the present invention the present plate cylinder assembly is not limited to plates of standard width and is capable of accommodating, with equal efficiency, plates of nonstandard, greater width. Thus I provide, between the main jaw assemblies, 20, 20a (FIG. 5) an auxiiary jaw assembly formed of a pair of jaws of relatively narrow axial extent, the auxiliary jaw assembly being mounted in the same bore within the cylinder coaxially with respect tolthe adjacent jaw assemblies and with the auxiliary jaws having alternative keyed connections with corresponding ones ofthe jaws in the adjacent assemblies. This permits the auxiliary jaw assembly, upon being slid endwise in the recess, to engage and augment a selected one of the adjacent assemblies for accommodation therein of plates of greater width. The auxiliary jaw assembly 110, interposed between the jaw assemblies 20, 20a has an auxiliary tensioning jaw. 111 secrued to an auxiliary sleeve 112 which is of the same diameter as the adjacent sleeves 23, 23a. The assembly also includes an auxiliary clamping jaw 113 secured to a member 114 which is analogous to a shaft and which is supported for rotation upon .a dowel 115 which bridges the shafts 33, 33a. It is one of the advantages of the construction that the auxiliary sleeve 11.2 and the auxiliary -shaft 114 have alternative keyed connections with a selected one of the-adjacent sleeves and shafts. Thus the auxiliary sleeve is provided with an axially extending pin 120 having alternatively engageable openings 121, 122 in the main sleeves. Similarly, the member 114, which supports the clamping jaw, has a pin 125, with altematively engageable openings 126, 127 in the main shafts. Accordingly, when the auxiliary jaw assembly 110 is slid to the left as viewed in FIG. 5 the auxiliary jaw assembly engages the left-hand jaw assembly 20 so that the clamping jaws of the latter are effectively elongated for handling plates of greater width. Conversely, sliding the auxiliary jaw assembly 110 to the right causes the jaws thereof to augment, and serve as an elongation of, the jaws in the assembly 20a, in which case the latter jaws will be capable of accommodating plates of greater width.

The simplicity which has been brought about in the mounting, registering and tensioning of a plate will be apparent to one skilled in the art. First of all, the jaws at the ends of a particular plate will be released by unscrewing the respective clamping screws 51, whereupon the separator springs 38 act to force the jaws apart. A flexible plate accurately notched as illustrated in FIG. 10 may be inserted into the leading edge jaws (depending upon intended direction of cylinder rotation), with the notch 9a being firmly seated upon the pin 39, following which the screw 51 is turned tight for secure clamping of the end of the plate. The collar screw 74 associated with the stop member 63 is loosened and the stop member is rotated so as to interpose a selected one of the stop surfaces 64, in the path of movement of the stop screw. The jack screw 55 is then turned to bring the stop screw into bottoming engagement which positions the end of the plate in a position of nominal register. The stop member 63 is then rotated back into the position illustrated in FIG. 6 in which the relief 66 is opposite the stop screw to permit subsequent touch-up adjustment. Following this the axial registration screw is turned to its position of nominal register.

The plate is then conformed to the surface of the cylinder and the inwardly bent, opposite end of the plate is interposed between the clamping jaw with the registering notch engaged with the registering pin, following which the clamping screw 51 at such end of the plate is turned tight. The associated axial registration screw 80 is turned to its nominal position following which the associated jack screw 55 is turned tight. The other plates on the cylinder are mounted and set in a condition of nominal register using the same procedure, following which the cylinder is allowed to print a web with slow rotation to check the precision of register. Whatever touch-up adjustment may be required may be brought about by manipulating the jack screws 55 at the ends of the plates to achieve peripheral adjustment and by moving the axial registration screws 80 a small amount in one direction or the other to achieve precise v axial register.

It will be apparent that the objects of the invention have been amply carried out by the above discussed structure. Installation and adjustment of a plate for either direction of rotation is considerably simplified as compared to conventionally available lock-up mechansims, turning of a single screw serving to clamp and release the end of the plate, with means to establish a condition of nominal register and with subsequent touch-up and tensioning being effected by coordinated turning of a register screw in one direction or the other. While the structure is capable of establishing and maintaining a high degree of precision in plate position, the structure is, nonetheless, inherently simple and compact. The jaw assemblies which secure adjacent plate ends are snugly nested within the conforming recess with substantially no lost space so that, for a given dimension of jaw assembly, required because of considerations of strength, the integrity of the cylinder body is affected to a minimum degree. Thus the cylinder preserves a high degree of rigidity and may be operated without risk at the highest available press speeds. The individual mechanical parts of which the structure is composed may be simply and inexpensively machined and are inherently strong, requiring a minimum of maintenance during the life of the press.

What is claimed is:

1. A plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the combination comprising a first jaw member formed of a hollow cylindrical sleeve and radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the sleeve having a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to the jaw, a second jaw member having a shaft and a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the shaft of the second jaw member being snugly telescoped into the sleeve and with the jaw thereof extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, means at the adjacent ends of the jaw members for imparting relative rocking movement to apply clamping pressure between the jaws so as to positively grip the end of the plate, the sleeve being telescoped into an undercut cylindrical groove formed in the surface of the cylinder, and means for rocking the jaw assembly as a unit with respect to the cylinder thereby to tension and peripherally position the gripped plate.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the jaws are integrally formed with the sleeve and shaft respectively and in which the jaws are each of tapering spade-like construction presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of the plate.

3. A plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the combination comprising a first jaw member formed of a hollow cylindrical sleeve and radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the sleeve having a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to the jaw, a second jaw member having a shaft and a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the' shaft of the second jaw member being snugly telescoped into the sleeve and with the jaw thereof extending through the clear ance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, a collar secured to the end of the sleeve, a shaft nally extending clearance slot running adjacent thereto as well as a shaft telescoped within the sleeve and having a longitudinally extending jaw extending through the clearance slot so that the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis, the jaws presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive faceto-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of a flexible printing plate, the jaw assemblies being spaced end to end in an undercut axially-extending recess formed in the cylinder, means at the respective ends of the cylinder for clamping and adjusting the adjacent jaw assembly rockably with respectto the cylinder, an auxiliary jaw assembly formed of a pair of jaws of relatively narrow axial extent interposed between the spaced ends of the first and second jaw assemblies, the auxiliary jaw assembly being mounted in the recess coaxially with respect to the first and second jaw assemblies and with the jaws thereon having alternative keyed connections with corresponding ones of the jaws in the first and second jaw assemblies thereby permitting the auxiliary jaw assembly upon being slid endwise in the recess to engage and augment a selected one of the first and second jaw assemblies for accommodation therein of plates of greater than standard width.

7. In a plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the combination comprising a clamping jaw member having a shaft and radially projecting jaw extending therealong, a tensioning jaw member formed of extension secured to the end of the shaft and extending through the collar, the collar having an eccentric clamping screw and the shaft extension having an arm formed thereon engaged by the screw so that when the screw is turned the sleeve and shaft are rocked relative.

peripherally position the gripped plate.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the jaw assembly is mounted in the cylinder for movement in the vaxial direction and in which an adjusting screw is interposed between the collar and the cylinder for adjusting the axial position of the sleeve and hence the axial position of the jaws and plate.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the jaws have opposing flat faces and in which there is extending from one of the faces a registering pin for registering with an opening formed in the end of the plate, the remaining face being recessed for clearance of the pin when the jaws are in clamping position, and means including an axially extending adjusting screw interposed between the collar and the cylinder for adassemblies, each of the assemblies consisting of a sleeve 1 having a longitudinally extending jaw and longitudia hollow cylindrical sleeve and having a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the sleeve having a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to the jaw, the clamping jaw member being telescoped within the sleeve with the jaw thereon extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, the sleeve having means'at its end in the form of an eccentrically mounted clamping screw for imparting relative rocking movement to the jaws so as to positively grip the end of the plate, the sleeve further having an eccentrically mounted jack screw for bearing against the cylinder for rocking the entire jaw assembly with respect to the cylinder to tension and position the plate, said sleeve further having an eccentric stop having a cooperating stop surface on the cylinder, the stop having means for relative adjustment.

8. The combination as claimed in claim 7 in which the stop is in the form of an adjustable screw and in which the stop surface is mounted upon a shiftable stop member which is so arranged as to permit movement of the stop surface out of the path of movement of the stop screw after adjustment has been initially effected.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 7 in which a rotatable stop member is provided on the cylinder having a plurality of stop surfaces thereon, the stop member being movable so as to selectively interpose one of the stop surfaces in the path of movement of the stop on the sleeve.

10. A plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press the combination comprising, a clamping jaw member formed of a shaft having a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, a tensioning jaw member in the form of a hollow cylindrical sleeve having a radially projecting jaw extending therealong and with a longitu- 9 dinal clearance slot extending adjacent to such jaw, the shaft being telescoped into the sleeve with its jaw extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, an auxiliary clamping jaw member having aradially projecting auxiliary jaw of narrow axial width, an auxiliary tensioning jaw member having a radially projecting auxiliary jaw of corresponding width, the auxiliary jaw members being coaxial with respect to the clamping and tensioning jaw members and having respective axially engageable keyed connections therewith so as to permit the jaws to be used with plates of different axial width depending whether the keyed connections are engaged or disengaged, the jaw members being telescoped into an undercut cylindrical groove formed in the surface of the cylinder with the end portions of the sleeve and shaft exposed at the end of the cylinder, means at the exposed ends for imparting relative rocking movement to apply clamping pressure between the jaws so as to positively grip the end of the plate, and means for rocking the sleeve with respect to the cylinder thereby to tension and peripherally position the plate.

11. The combination as claimed in claim 10 in which the axially-facing keyed connection is in the form of axially-extending pins arranged for engagement with axially-extending bores respectively formed in the connected members.

12. A plate cylinder assembly for a printing press comprising, in combination, a cylinder, first and second jaw assemblies, each of the assemblies consisting of a sleeve having a longitudinally extending jaw and longitudinally extending clearance slot running adjacent thereto, as well as a shaft telescoped within the sleeve and having a longitudinally extending jaw extending through the clearance slot so that the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis, the jaws being tapered and spade-like presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent'over end portion of a flexible printing plate, the jaw assemblies being spaced side by side in an undercut axially-extending recess formed in the clyinder and in mirror image to one another for respectively engaging a plate leading edge and a plate trailing edge, means at the end of the cylinder for clamping the opposed jaws together and for adjusting each jaw assembly rockably and axially with respect to the cylinder, the recess in the cylinder having a cross section in the form of a symmetrical triangle communicating with symmetrically arranged longitudinally extending cylindrical bores extending lengthwise of the cylinder and with-the sleeves being snugly telescoped in the respective bores for combined rocking and axial movement.

13. A plate cylinder assembly for a printing press comprising, in combination, a cylinder, first and second jaw assemblies, each of the assemblies consisting of a sleeve having a longitudinally extending jaw and longitudinally extending clearance slot running adjacent thereto as well as a shaft telescoped within the sleeve and having a longitudinally extending jaw extending through the clearance slot so that the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis, the jaws being tapered and spade-like presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of a flexible printing plate, the jaw assemblies being mounted side by side in an undercut axially extending recess formed in the cylinder and in mirror image to one another for respectively engaging a plate leading edge and a plate trailing edge, means at the end of the cylinder for clamping the opposed jaws together and for adjusting each jaw assembly rockably with respect to the cylinder, the recess in the cylinder having a cross section which is generally triangular communicating with symmetrically arranged longitudinally extending cylindrical bores extending lengthwise of the cylinder and with the sleeves being v snugly telescoped in the respective bores, and a stop member at the end of the cylinder-centered between the jaw assemblies and cooperating with the sleeves for limiting the rocking movement of each of them.

14. The combination as claimed in claim 13 in which the stop member is in the form of an axially oriented member having symmetrically faceted stop surfaces and which is rotatable to present facets of different radius to limit the rocking movement of each of the sleeves. 

1. A plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the combination comprising a first jaw member formed of a hollow cylindrical sleeve and radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the sleeve having a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to the jaw, a second jaw member having a shaft and a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the shaft of the second jaw member being snugly telescoped into the sleeve and with the jaw thereof extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, means at the adjacent ends of the jaw members for imparting relative rocking movement to apply clamping pressure between the jaws so as to positively grip the end of the plate, the sleeve being telescoped into an undercut cylindrical groove formed in the surface of the cylinder, and means for rocking the jaw assembly as a unit with respect to the cylinder thereby to tension and peripherally position the gripped plate.
 2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the jaws are integrally formed with the sleeve and shaft respectively and in which the jaws are each of tapering spade-like construction presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of the plate.
 3. A plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the combination comprising a first jaw member formed of a hollow cylindrical sleeve and radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the sleeve having a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to the jaw, a second jaw member having a shaft and a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the shaft of the second jaw member being snugly telescoped into the sleeve and with the jaw thereof extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, a collar secured to the end of the sleeve, a shaft extension secured to the end of the shaft and extending through the collar, the collar having an eccentric clamping screw and the shaft extension having an arm formed thereon engaged by the screw so that when the screw is turned the sleeve and shaft are rocked relative to one another to positively grip the end of the plate, said collar further having a jack screw which engages the cylinder for rocking the entire jaw assembly as a unit with respect to the cylinder thereby to rension and peripherally position the gripped plate.
 4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the jaw assembly is mounted in the cylinder for movement in the axial direction and in which an adjusting screw is interposed between the collar and the cylinder for adjusting the axial position of the sleeve and hence the axial position of the jaws and plate.
 5. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the jaws have opposing flat faces and in which there is extending from one of the faces a registering pin for registering with an opening formed in the end of the plate, the remaining face being recessed for clearance of the pin when the jaws are in clamping position, and means including an axially extending adjusting screw interposed between the collar and the cylinder for adjusting the axial position of the jaw assembly and hence the axial position of the plate.
 6. A plate cylinder assembly for a printing press comprising, in combination, a cylinder, first and second jaw assemblies, each of the assemblies consisting of a sleeve having a longitudinally extending jaw and longitudinally extending clearance slot running adjacent thereto as well as a shaft telescoped within the sleeve and having a longitudinally extending jaw extending through the clearance slot so that the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis, the jaws presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of a flexible printing plate, the jaw assemblies being spaced end to end in an undercut axially-extending recess formed in the cylinder, means at the respective ends of the cylinder for clamping and adjusting the adjacent jaw assembly rockably with respect to the cylinder, an auxiliary jaw assembly formed of a pair of jaws of relatively narrow axial extent interposed between the spaced ends of the first and second jaw assemblies, the auxiliary jaw assembly being mounted in the recess coaxially with respect to the first and second jaw assemblies and with the jaws thereon having alternative keyed connections with corresponding ones of the jaws in the first and second jaw assemblies thereby permitting the auxiliary jaw assembly upon being slid endwise in the recess to engage and augment a selected one of the first and second jaw assemblies for accommodation therein of plates of greater than standard width.
 7. In a plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plAtes on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press, the combination comprising a clamping jaw member having a shaft and radially projecting jaw extending therealong, a tensioning jaw member formed of a hollow cylindrical sleeve and having a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, the sleeve having a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to the jaw, the clamping jaw member being telescoped within the sleeve with the jaw thereon extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, the sleeve having means at its end in the form of an eccentrically mounted clamping screw for imparting relative rocking movement to the jaws so as to positively grip the end of the plate, the sleeve further having an eccentrically mounted jack screw for bearing against the cylinder for rocking the entire jaw assembly with respect to the cylinder to tension and position the plate, said sleeve further having an eccentric stop having a cooperating stop surface on the cylinder, the stop having means for relative adjustment.
 8. The combination as claimed in claim 7 in which the stop is in the form of an adjustable screw and in which the stop surface is mounted upon a shiftable stop member which is so arranged as to permit movement of the stop surface out of the path of movement of the stop screw after adjustment has been initially effected.
 9. The combination as claimed in claim 7 in which a rotatable stop member is provided on the cylinder having a plurality of stop surfaces thereon, the stop member being movable so as to selectively interpose one of the stop surfaces in the path of movement of the stop on the sleeve.
 10. A plate locking device for clamping flexible printing plates on a plate cylinder of a rotary printing press the combination comprising, a clamping jaw member formed of a shaft having a radially projecting jaw extending therealong, a tensioning jaw member in the form of a hollow cylindrical sleeve having a radially projecting jaw extending therealong and with a longitudinal clearance slot extending adjacent to such jaw, the shaft being telescoped into the sleeve with its jaw extending through the clearance slot to form a jaw assembly in which the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis for reception of the bent-over end of a printing plate, an auxiliary clamping jaw member having a radially projecting auxiliary jaw of narrow axial width, an auxiliary tensioning jaw member having a radially projecting auxiliary jaw of corresponding width, the auxiliary jaw members being coaxial with respect to the clamping and tensioning jaw members and having respective axially engageable keyed connections therewith so as to permit the jaws to be used with plates of different axial width depending whether the keyed connections are engaged or disengaged, the jaw members being telescoped into an undercut cylindrical groove formed in the surface of the cylinder with the end portions of the sleeve and shaft exposed at the end of the cylinder, means at the exposed ends for imparting relative rocking movement to apply clamping pressure between the jaws so as to positively grip the end of the plate, and means for rocking the sleeve with respect to the cylinder thereby to tension and peripherally position the plate.
 11. The combination as claimed in claim 10 in which the axially-facing keyed connection is in the form of axially-extending pins arranged for engagement with axially-extending bores respectively formed in the connected members.
 12. A plate cylinder assembly for a printing press comprising, in combination, a cylinder, first and second jaw assemblies, each of the assemblies consisting of a sleeve having a longitudinally extending jaw and longitudinally extending clearance slot running adjacent thereto, as well as a shaft telescoped within the sleeve and having a longitudinally extending jaw extendiNg through the clearance slot so that the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis, the jaws being tapered and spade-like presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of a flexible printing plate, the jaw assemblies being spaced side by side in an undercut axially-extending recess formed in the clyinder and in mirror image to one another for respectively engaging a plate leading edge and a plate trailing edge, means at the end of the cylinder for clamping the opposed jaws together and for adjusting each jaw assembly rockably and axially with respect to the cylinder, the recess in the cylinder having a cross section in the form of a symmetrical triangle communicating with symmetrically arranged longitudinally extending cylindrical bores extending lengthwise of the cylinder and with the sleeves being snugly telescoped in the respective bores for combined rocking and axial movement.
 13. A plate cylinder assembly for a printing press comprising, in combination, a cylinder, first and second jaw assemblies, each of the assemblies consisting of a sleeve having a longitudinally extending jaw and longitudinally extending clearance slot running adjacent thereto as well as a shaft telescoped within the sleeve and having a longitudinally extending jaw extending through the clearance slot so that the jaws are relatively swingable toward one another about a central axis, the jaws being tapered and spade-like presenting opposed flat faces to provide extensive face-to-face engagement with the bent-over end portion of a flexible printing plate, the jaw assemblies being mounted side by side in an undercut axially extending recess formed in the cylinder and in mirror image to one another for respectively engaging a plate leading edge and a plate trailing edge, means at the end of the cylinder for clamping the opposed jaws together and for adjusting each jaw assembly rockably with respect to the cylinder, the recess in the cylinder having a cross section which is generally triangular communicating with symmetrically arranged longitudinally extending cylindrical bores extending lengthwise of the cylinder and with the sleeves being snugly telescoped in the respective bores, and a stop member at the end of the cylinder centered between the jaw assemblies and cooperating with the sleeves for limiting the rocking movement of each of them.
 14. The combination as claimed in claim 13 in which the stop member is in the form of an axially oriented member having symmetrically faceted stop surfaces and which is rotatable to present facets of different radius to limit the rocking movement of each of the sleeves. 